Secret Investor: RateSetter achieve full FCA regulation and platforms as you to 'refer a friend'

Totals lent to date (19th October 2017)

*All data correct at the time this blog was compiled.

LOANS TO BUSINESSES

Assetz Capital - £356,606,977

Crowd2Fund - £4,000,000
Funding Circle - £2,800,000,000
FundingKnight - £31,485,000
FundingSecure - £174,200,758
Money & Co - £6 million approx
Rebuildingsociety - £11,800,000
ThinCats - £257,030,000
Invest and Fund - £3 million plus
LendingCrowd - £20,050,726
ArchOver - £48,650,000

PERSONAL P2P LENDING

Zopa - £2,700,000,000
RateSetter - £2,128,745,844

Lending Works - £74,277,943

…………..

LOANS TO BUSINESS

Assetz Capital

Lent to Date: £356,606,977 – fortnightly increase of £4,176,496 – 1.19% growth.

When this blog was compiled there were 67 loans in the pipeline with 2 imminently due to be drawndown.

Highlighted Loan: Property Developer from the North West raised the first <£420k tranche of a facility totalling just over a £million to purchase a pub and convert it into student accommodation and a restaurant. The borrower has plenty of experience in projects of this nature and investors were offered a return of 7% pa over the 15 month term.

Managed Accounts: The following accounts automatically distribute funds on behalf of investors across different sections of the platform's portfolio and are covered by a discretionary Provision Fund (the target rates of return are in brackets):

Quick Access Account (3.75% pa)

30 Day Access Account (4.25% pa)

Property Secured Investment Account (5.5% pa)

Great British Business Account (7% pa)

Green Energy Income Account (7% pa)

Loss of Interest: One of the two guarantors of a loan to a hotel in Wales sadly passed away a few months ago. Their life insurance covered the outstanding capital but the remaining interest payments need to be met by the surviving partner who is only able to repay 20% of this sum. Investors were asked whether they wanted to accept this settlement but it was rejected. The guarantor is reviewing their options.

Crowd2Fund

Lent to Date: £4 million – latest figure available.

There were 7 auctions added to the site in the past fortnight. As loans are listed for 30 days, only recent additions are noted in this blog.

Highlighted Loan: Cuban street food chain returned to the site for £200k of expansion capital. They seem to be based in prime locations and have been trading since the 1990s when they claim to have introduced the Mojito cocktail to the UK. However, the most recent set of accounts were 12 months out of date and the annual profit figure was only 75% of the capital being raised which may make it difficult to cover the repayments if the expansion plans don't go to plan. Investors were offered a return of 10% pa.

Funding Circle

Lent to Date: £2,800,000,000 – Funding Circle have removed the page that gave the Total Lent to the nearest pound.

When this blog was compiled, there were no loan requests listed but as funds are automatically allocated, all requests for capital are rapidly met.

Highlighted Loan:

I have not caught any loan requests going through the system but as I am exiting this platform, I've not been checking all that often.

Defaulted Loans Update: An insolvent printing company added to my growing list of defaults on this platform – £68 of my capital is outstanding.

Then today, 3 more insolvent businesses – a convenience store, transport business and gas fitters added more than £160 to my losses.

FundingKnight

Lent to Date: £31,485,000 – no change.

There were 0 auctions ongoing when this blog was compiled – only 1 loan has appeared on this site in 2017. The platform is planning a relaunch in 2018.

FundingSecure

Lent to Date: £ 174,200,758 at the end of September – monthly increase of £12,060,250 - 7.44% growth.

Today 2 auctions were ongoing.

Highlighted Loan: A loan of just under £1 million was raised this week by a borrower wishing to purchase a substantial property on the South coast with planning permission to establish assisted living units. The LTV was below 40% and a return of 13% pa was offered.

Defaults: Another property-backed loan has defaulted after the promised refinancing failed to materialise. On a slightly positive note, some railway memorabilia was sold enabling a partial payment to be made against that particular loan but there are still many items from this borrower waiting to find a buyer.

Money & Co

Lent to Date: £6 million approx. (latest available figure)

When this blog was compiled there was 1 auction taking place. This was the sixth tranche of funding to facilitate the take-over of a financial services company which was highlighted in previous blogs. Despite being listed on the site a fortnight ago, the £50k requirement was only 40% funded.

rebuildingsociety

Lent to Date: £11,800,000 – no change.

There were 3 auctions taking place when this blog was compiled.

Highlighted Loan: Building Contractor was looking to raise >£54k to refinance existing borrowing. Security was provided via a Personal Guarantee and a Second Charge over an investment property. Investors were offered returns up to 17% pa.

Platform News: The way loans are presented has undergone a revamp at ReBS with an explanation of the factors which determine a borrower's risk rating. For example, the highlight loan was awarded a C rating due to irregular preparation of management accounts, declining profits and marginal growth.

ThinCats

Lent to Date: £257,030,000 – fortnightly increase of £2,075,000 – 0.81% growth.

There were 0 active auctions taking place when this blog was compiled although 2 were due to begin tomorrow (Friday, 20th October).

Highlighted Loan: Diamond dealers return to ThinCats tomorrow to raise £500k to purchase stock. The loan will be secured via company assets with the total value of the diamonds held being 2x the amount being borrowed. Personal Guarantees were also provided by the joint owners of the business. Investors were offered a return of 9% pa.

Invest & Fund

Lent to Date: Over £3 million

There were 0 active auctions taking place when this blog was compiled.

Highlighted Loan: Property Developer in the Midlands returned to the site to continue to convert a former farm into a high-end housing complex. Two plots have already been completed and a sale has been agreed on one of them. The second loan of £3.155 million will refinance the first, which matured last weekend, and enable the third and fourth plots to be completed. The initial tranche is for £2.4 million and investors were offered a return of 9.5% pa over the next 15 months.

LendingCrowd

Lent to Date: £20,050,726 – fortnightly increase of £912,690 – 4.77% growth.

There were 0 active auctions taking place when this blog was compiled.

Highlighted Loan: Plant hire business was looking to raise £52k to purchase land adjacent to their premises to act as a storage area. Currently, they are renting space from a local farmer. This should reduce costs. My one concern was that the Net Assets were surprisingly low for a business of this nature. The site also classed this loan has high risk with investor's returns averaging over 12% pa when I checked out this proposal which I decided to avoid.

Platform News: LendingCrowd are running a "refer a friend" scheme until 30th November. Both referrer and their friend will receive £50 if the newcomer invests £2k.

ArchOver

Lent to Date: £48,650,000 – fortnightly increase of £1,020,000 – 2.14% growth.

There was 1 auction taking place when this blog was compiled.

Highlighted Loan: Geological Engineers who are involved in transport infrastructure projects were looking for half £million to consolidate existing borrowing and provide expansion capital. Security was provided by a charge over Accounts Receivable and the loan was also insured. Investors were offered a return of 7% pa. With rates falling over at Assetz Capital, the risk/return ratio on this site is looking increasingly attractive.

CapitalRise

Platform News: CapitalRise have introduced a "Refer a Friend" Scheme which runs until 15th November. Both the referrer and their friend receive a bonus worth 1% of the newcomer's deposit although, at the moment, the site has no loans requiring investment.

PERSONAL P2P LENDING

Zopa

Lent to Date:  £2.70 billion – fortnightly increase of £40 million – 1.5% growth.

Returns: Zopa's 2 accounts offer returns of 3.7% and 4.5% pa with the latter allocating some funds to riskier loans that offer higher returns.

Zopa distribute investor's money mostly to unsecured consumer loans.

Platform News: In future, Zopa investors will be lending money to borrowers from the Saffron Building Society via 11 branches across Hertfordshire, Essex and Suffolk. Funding customers in the High Street will result in P2P lending becoming even more mainstream.

Ratesetter

Lent to Date: £2,128,745,844 – fortnightly increase of £28,937,028 – 1.38% growth.

Returns: Interest rates are set according to supply and demand. They currently range from 4.3% pa to 6.1% pa depending on the length of the investment. The rates have increased by 0.4% and 0.6% respectively in the past fortnight.

Capital is covered by a Provision Fund. Ratesetter proudly boast that no investor has lost a penny since they launched in 2010.

Platform News: Ratesetter have become the last of the major platforms to receive Full Authorisation from the FCA paving the way for them to offer an IFISA. They hope to be ready to bring the product to market before the start of the next tax year.

The platform has also introduced a "Refer a Friend" Scheme in which the referrer earns £50 and the friend receives £100 in the newcomer invests £5k.

Lending Works

Lent to Date: £74,277,943 – fortnightly increase of £2,357,991 – 3.28% growth.

Returns: 4.0% pa and 5.5% pa via an IFISA or standard account for 3 and 5 year investments respectively. These are unchanged from 2 weeks ago.

As well as a Provision Fund to cover investor's risks, this site also insures borrowers against redundancy, fraud, illness and accidents making this a very fair site for all concerned.

****Disclaimer: This blog contains the views of the Secret Investor. Your capital is at risk when lending via all P2P Platforms. You're recommended to speak to a qualified Independent Financial Advisor.